Hereditary baldness gene identified

The cause of hereditary baldness has been identified, leading to hopes for
future hair loss treatment.

The light was captured on several video and still cameras, including a dashboard video camera in a police car in Iowa.Photo: AP

5:00PM BST 15 Apr 2010

Researchers have found a gene mutation which leads to thinning hair and which can even start taking effect in childhood.

The gene, APCDD1, causes hair follicles to shrink, leading to thinner hair.

Now the team at Columbia university hope the findings could help discover new ways to treat the condition.

The condition leading to thinning hair is known as hereditary hypotrichosis simplex and the researchers believe they have pinpointed the gene behind it.

However the scientists the cause of the more common male pattern baldness, which affects most men at some point in their lives, remains elusive.

Dr Angela Christiano, lead author and professor of dermatology and genetics and development at Columbia University Medical Center, said: "The identification of this gene underlying hereditary hypotrichosis simplex has afforded us an opportunity to gain insight into the process of hair follicle miniaturization, which is most commonly observed in male pattern hair loss or androgenetic alopecia.

"It is important to note that while these two conditions share the same physiologic process, the gene we discovered for hereditary hypotrichosis does not explain the complex process of male pattern baldness."

Her team studied data from families in Pakistan and Italy with hereditary hypotrichosis simplex.

Scientists at the Yumiko Saga at the National Institute of Genetics in Tokyo are also working on how another gene, the Sox21, can function to aid hair retention.

When they blocked the activity of the gene in mice, they experienced significant hair loss.

It is hoped their research may also lead to a cure for baldness.

Previous research has suggested that premature hair loss is linked to good health.

According to scientists from the University of Washington School of Medicine in Seattle, men whose hairlines start to recede at a young age are 45 per cent less likely to fall victim to prostate cancer.